Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Z is for Zonkey

Zonkeys
By Trevor


In this paper you will learn about a very cool animal, named Zonkey. You will learn about the habitat, what they eat, and what they are. If you don’t know what a Zonkey is well hopefully after you read this paper you will know.


Habitats and Foods


A Zonkey would live in the savannas and dry grasslands, since zonkeys aren’t in the wild this is where they would live. Zonkeys are considered a plain animal because they would be released in Africa’s grasslands and savannas. Zonkey’s are going to be pack animals because they rely on each other to do something, like zebras. Now we’re going to switch over to what they eat. When Zonkeys are babies they mostly rely on their mothers milk. When they get older, like 2 years old  they start eating berries and fruits. Finally, when they’re adults they eat lettuce and carrots.


What a Zonkey Is.


A zonkey is a zebroid, a zebroid is a zebra and another equine. To make a zonkey you need to make a donkey and zebra have to mate not  DNA split. Zonkeys have a very low chance that it can make another zonkey. A zonkey is mostly a donkey, but it still has zebra parts. A zonkey looks like this, A donkey head, mostly a donkey body and a legs and tail of a zebra.


Works Cited
"Meet the 'zonkey': A Zebra-donkey Hybrid." The Sydney Morning Herald. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. <http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/meet-the-zonkey-a-zebradonkey-hybrid-20131102-2wtw4.html>.
"Zonkey." (Equus Zebra X Equus Asinus). Web. 26 Mar. 2014. <http://a-z-animals.com/animals/zonkey/>.
Chang, Jon M. "Rare Italian-born Baby Zonkey in Good Health." ABC News. ABC News Network, 25 July 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. <http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/rare-italian-born-baby-zonkey-good-health/story?id=19769860>.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Y is for Youthful

Youthful
By: Mr. Posick

It was an honor to have Mrs. Iwanski ask me to contribute to her class blog.  Now I am no longer a 5th grader, but I do remember being a 5th grader and the one thing that comes to mind is “youthful”.  That’s nearly 40 years ago, but I remember never thinking I would grow old.  Well I have, but I know in being with our 5th graders nearly every day that being youthful is so important to them.  I guess I equate youthful with the following words- active, inquisitive, curious, energetic.  Don’t these words describe the 5th graders that you know?

Now the next step for schools and families is to foster the youthfulness of our 5th graders.  Allow them to be active.   Allow them to be inquisitive.  Allow them to be curious.  Allow them to be energetic.  We must allow all of these to occur both in their learning and in their life.  Although I’m not a 5th grader any more, I do remember being youthful and I sure hope that we allow our 5th graders to stay youthful for a very long time.

Monday, April 28, 2014

X is for Xtra Recess


Here in Mrs. Iwanski’s 5th grade classroom we use the Columbia Teacher’s College’s units of study. One of the units for our writing workshop asks students to draft an argumentative piece on a given topic. The 6th grade classes this year followed the unit verbatim and wrote on the topic of serving chocolate milk in school. 5th grade classes took the same unit but a different path. We received this e-mail from our principal and it launched an epic debate in class which turned into a researched argumentative writing assignment.


The thing that was interesting to me was that students on both sides of the issue were fired up. They researched, wrote, revised, and posted to their blogs some of the greatest writing that I have seen to date. They supported their ideas and glued them together with transitional phrases flawlessly. They reached a level of argument that even I hadn’t anticipated. After posting their writing to their individual blogs, my students received a response requesting a round-table discussion.

I allowed students to volunteer for this opportunity and was pleased by the number of students who stepped forth. As a grade level we took two for and two against from each classroom and had students prepare argument points to get up and share with the grade level and with Mr. Posick. We held a mini-assembly for the students to share their points with the principal on both sides of the argument. The remaining 5th graders watched and learned about the debate process and saw first hand a debate on the same topic they had all written about earlier.

All in all I was impressed at how much impact that “xtra recess” idea had on my students. Regardless of which side of the argument my students took, it became evident to me that extra, or second, recess is a topic that matters to fifth graders on both side of the debate.

Embedded image permalink

Saturday, April 26, 2014

W is for Wisconsin Sports Teams

Wisconsin Sports Teams
By: Evan

There are 3 main teams in Wisconsin. Packers are the football team, the Brewers are the baseball team, and the Bucks are the basketball team. The Packers became the football team on August 11, 1919 and have won the super bowl 4 times. The Brewers became the baseball team in 1969 and never won a world series. The Bucks became the basketball team in 1968 and won 1 nba championship.

Friday, April 25, 2014

V is for Veterinarian

Veterinarian      
By: Madisen

He is your friend,
your partner
your dog.  
They might be messy or not listen
but you’re their leader .

Vets might seem mean
but all they care about is your safety and dogs
and that you take care of your dog .  
Dog are a man’s best friend

so you should treat them like it .

Thursday, April 24, 2014

U is for Unicorns

Unicorn Story

By: Rebecca


There once was a white Unicorn with a sparkling mane. It used magic. It ran in the Forest. It pranced around in the sunlight. It partied in the night. The Forest was filled to the brim with Unicorns, and unfortunately, The Evil Unicorn Poacher. He earned his name by killing the most powerful of Unicorns. The Evil Unicorn Poacher’s wife died three years ago and the only way to resurrect her was with the Royal Unicorn Family’s blood.

Fortunately for the Unicorns, they all looked the same except for their horns. But of course, The Evil Unicorn Poacher didn’t know that. One day, the Unicorn was captured. The Unicorn was taken hostage and held for ransom by The Evil Unicorn Poacher, thinking she was the Princess. The Royal Unicorn Army of the Forest came to get her back but she was already lying on the floor, as cold as ice.

“WHERE IS THE ROYAL UNICORN FAMILY?” The Evil Unicorn Poacher bellowed.

The Captain of the Royal Unicorn Army of the Forest replied, “They have died out.”

“I HAVE SEARCHED THROUGH ALL THE POWERFUL UNICORN’S BLOOD AND NONE OF THEM ARE ROYAL!” tears streamed down his cheek.

“You have checked through the most intelligent Unicorn, have you not?” asked The Captain of the Royal Unicorn Army of the Forest.
The Evil Unicorn Poacher nodded.

“Our Queen was very weak, but was very intelligent. Grab her blood and make your wife’s corpse drink it.”

The Happy Unicorn Poacher revived his wife, and the Unicorns got a new Queen and they all lived happily ever after.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

T is for Terraria

Terraria
By: Jonathan

Terraria is a video game for ios, xbox and computer. The game is all about collecting resources, building a home and defeating the bosses. Now, I will tell you all about the bosses, weapons, monsters and areas.

Bosses
The game has a lot of  bosses so I will stick to the main ones.The first boss, in no particular order, is Skeletron. He is a giant skeleton with floating ams and a head only. He hits you with his arms or his head. The next one is a giant eye called the Eye of Cthulhu. He can float and make little drones. The last one is the Wall of Flesh. He shoots lasors and small snippers at you. When you beat him, hard mode is activated and there are new monsters and bosses.

Monsters
Monsters are like bosses except they are smaller and less deadly. There are a LOT of monsters, so I will stick to the basics. During the day there are less monsters. The simplest one is the slime and he is low health and attacks weakly. During the night the basic monsters are zombies and demon eyes. Zombies walk around and are a little stronger than slimes but less fast. Demon Eyes fly around and are harder to kill because they are faster.

Areas
In the game there are lots different areas so I will stick to the basic three. First, there is the forest that is the basic area. The next area is the corruption. The corruption is dark and evil. The last one is the forest. Forest monsters are tougher than regular monsters.

Weapons/Tools
Tools help you do stuff. The first tool is the pickaxe. This helps you mine dirt, stone and other materials. The next one is an axe. The axe helps you mine wood. The next one is the hammer. The hamer lets you remove walls, crafting items and chests. There are two different types of weapons, ranged, magic and melee. Ranged weapons are weapons you collect amo for. Magic weapons are weapons that use mana or magic. Melee weapons are up close  weapons that you swing or stab.

I hoped you enjoyed my guide. Thank you.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

S is for Soccer

Soccer
By: Katelyn

There once was a soccer player from a terrain
He didn’t like to play in the rain
Once in a muddle
He ran through a puddle
And then he became so plain

There’s a soccer team named the Milwaukee Wave
What a good goal did their goalie save
They have lost 3 times
There have been no crimes
They don’t have to learn how to behave


About the Milwaukee Wave

The Milwaukee Wave is a professional indoor soccer team. They have lost 3 times this season to the Missouri Comets. The Milwaukee wave was founded on August 3, 1984. They are the oldest continuously operating professional soccer team in North America and a member of the Major Indoor Soccer League. Their team colors are blue and white, and their head coach is Keith Tozer. He has coached them for 22 seasons and he is also assisted by Mark Litton and Guiliano Oliverio.They play in the U.S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee. In 2012-2013 in the regular season they came in 2nd place, but in the playoffs they lost the semifinals.

Monday, April 21, 2014

R is for Roman Gods

Guide to Roman Gods
By: Mystery Guest Blogger

Jupiter: God of the sky and lightning.
Venus: Goddess of love and beauty.
Neptune: God of the sea and earthquakes.
Pluto: God of the underworld.
Juno: Queen of the gods.
Cupid: God of love.
Vulcan: God of blacksmiths and fire.  
Mars: God of war.
Bacchus: God of wine.
Janus: God of doors.
Cereus: God of earth.
Mercury: Messenger of the gods.
Maia: God of growth.
Saturn: God of time.
Apollo: God of the sun.
Vesta: God of home.
Plutus: God of wealth.
Flora: God of flowers.
Cerberus: Dog of the underworld.
Daina: God of the moon.
Minerva: Goddess of wisdom.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Q is for Quality Tractors

Quality Tractors
By: Ryan

I know a good quality tractor, it is John Deere. They go back to the 1800’s. In the 1800’s they were horse plows. The first John Deere tractors were made in 1880 and they are still in business today.  The best lawn mowers they made were from 1963-1967 in my opinion. I have a 1966 John Deere 110 and it run good and it never breaks down.  The 110 and the 112 have a ton of attachments.  The new ones are not as good as the old John Deeres.

Friday, April 18, 2014

P is for Packing

P is for Packing
By: Jake

Do you want to go to  Europe?  Or go backpacking? Well you better get a backpack to go.
backpack

No Bob. It needs to have an internal/external frame to distribute the weight like this.
Early 1990s JanSport D-3
This pack distributes the weight on your hip area more than shoulder area it is helpful because all of the weight is not just to your .  Also for a hike you may need extra water if you do you should get a water pack.  You should get your pack at Cabelas or R.E.I and fitted there or if people you know can bles and get it fitted there or if someone you know can.  The measure of packs space is in liters like 30,40,49 etc.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

O is for Olympics

A Win at the Summer Olympics 2012

By: Sara
Dan was at his living room watching the Summer Olympics 2008. He thought his favorite event was sprint. “ One day, I’ll be in the Summer Olympics 2012”. The next morning, Dan talked to his mom about his goal for the Olympics. She said, “ That a great idea sweetie, start practicing now so you can achieve your goal”. Dan had been practicing and practicing and it’s now 2012. The director of the Olympics said, “ Congrats Dan, you will be on the 2012 Summer Olympics team U.S.A and the events you will be competing are sprint, hurdles, and javelin”.

Dan said, “ When do the Summer Olympics start?” The track and field coach told Dan that the Olympics will start on July 25 and last until August 12.  The coach said, “You can practice anywhere in the U.S and the competition will be in London. Don’t forget practice practice and practice”. Dan said “Ok”. Over the next 3 weeks, Dan practiced like his coach told him and ate healthy. Now it was July 25 and it’s the first day of the Summer Olympics 2012!

         Dan had been waiting for this day in his whole life and achieved his goal.  
The director of the Olympics host the ceremony before the Olympics. There was music, food, and flames. The first event was sprint and Dan was nervous and sweaty. Before the event, he did warm ups and drills with his coach and said to himself, “Be focused and have fun”.

The first event had finally arrived and Dan went up to the starting line for sprint. When he saw the other competitors, he noticed that they were taller than him. He felt nervous and frightened. He ignored his feeling and remembered to stay focused and have fun. The starting gun sounded and the competitors began to run as fast as they could.The speakers said, “ Dan is the fastest runner in this event and is going to get gold for team U.S.A.”.   His coach said, “ We won the first event because of you Dan!”. Dan had NO idea that he was faster than the other athletes.

After a couple of hours of watching other events, Dan got ready for javelin. Before the event, he tested out the different types of javelins and ALL of them were light for the athletes to use. When the event came up, he was ready and hyper to throw the javelin. When he did the first trial,he got 55.32 and Dan thinks that was not what he was looking for. Then, on his second trial and third trial, he got 77.89 and he was happy about it. He got another gold medal.

The last event is the hurdles and it was Dan’s last event to compete. His coach said, “All you do is when you see a hurdle, you jump with both feet and run again.” The starting gun sounded and he run and jump. Dan had one more hurdle and he’ll might get gold 3 times for team U.S.A.. The speakers said, “ Dan gets the gold 3 times and now the Olympics is over…. TEAM U.S.A WON!!!! Gather around for the celebration.”    

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

N is for Nintendo Entertainment System

The Nintendo Entertainment System

By: Jon

Have you ever wondered what came before your modern tech? If you have this paper is for you. Originally airing in 1983 the nintendo entertainment system (NES) became an instant hit with games such as Mario and Legends of Zelda (and just between the two of us there are secrets in both games.)The NES was quickly a has been  when the SNES (super nes) came out. But still, the NES is a valuable part of the worlds video game history.

Nintendo Entertainment System

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

M is for Minecraft

M is for Minecraft


By: Alec

Steve is the main Character in Minecraft. When you get into your world you start off as Steve.

Then there is the Bomb creeper. The bomb creeper will kill you and when you get killed you will lose all your stuff. But you can kill the bomb creeper but you can’t get close to him or he will  explode.
These are all the minecraft animals for the ipad. There is a chicken, sheep,  cow, and a pig. There are a lot more animals but they are on the computer and on the Xbox.
I play Minecraft almost every day on my Ipad. My favorite thing to do in Minecraft is make cool houses and mine.
If you make a bed you can sleep in it only at night though. If you are low on lives you can wait until it becomes nighttime and when you go to sleep your lives are fully full again.
Minecraft is my favorite game because there are a lot of things to do, and that is why I enjoy playing Minecraft.


Monday, April 14, 2014

L is for Lacrosse

Lacrosse
By: Erin

Run.. run.. run
Down the field
Defender runs in front of you
They stick their stick up
Ya do a flip over their head    
And keep running
BOOM

Ya shoot the ball
It hits the goalie leg
And flys out
The other team scoops it up
They run down the field
She drops the ball
Everyone goes for it
Our team flicks it out
And picks it up

Running....
Faster and faster
Around the goal
Around the goal again
Come around from the side
Shoot!!

GOAL

Saturday, April 12, 2014

K is for Koala

Koalas
By: Noelle

Born- When a Koala is born it weighs less than ½ of a gram, but when it grows to its full size it weighs 15-30 pounds, and is about two feet long. Female koalas also have a pouch that carries their young.  

Nocturnal- Koalas sleep most of the day in other words 18 hours. They have great night vision when they are up so they can see just fine. But during the day the sunlight hurts their eyes.

Home- Koalas are found in Australia in the forests. Their trees are called eucalyptus trees. That is also where they get there food and most of their water.

Color/Look- If you have ever seen a koala? If you have, then you know that they look like.  They are furry, gray, and mean. They also have a fluffy short tail, and a dark black nose. Also, they have a white stomach. That is what koalas look like.

Weight- Koalas usually weigh around 15-30 pounds. But it depends, females seem to not weigh as much as males. In length, koalas are usually around 27-36 in (70 to 90 cm.)

Pet- If you wanted to have a koala as a pet, they usually cost between 3,000 and 5,000 dollars each! But you know what is crazy? That is only for a baby koala!

Food/Water- Koalas eat mainly eucalyptus leaves (gum leaves). Occasionally they will eat the leaves from some other native Australian trees, and they also use certain trees just for resting in. Koalas live in tall open eucalypt (gum tree) forests. They also drink their water from that tree. So they eat drink and live in one tree!

Noises- Koalas make a roaring sound to let people know that they are mad or scared. So whenever they make that sound they are trying to tell people something.

Life Span- In the wild Koalas can live 12-14 years. But if someone is taking care of them, or if they are in captivity they can live 16-20 years.

Predators of Koalas- There are many things that put the life of a koala in danger. A dangerous enemy of a koala is the European Fox. Also dangerous to the Koala is fire, (because they cannot run fast enough to escape them,) hunters, and cars, (car accident.) Some enemies of the baby koala are eagles and owls.



Fun Facts
  • The name “koala’ comes from the Aboriginal word meaning “no drink”
  • The Koala has many nicknames. Some of which include Koala Bear, Bangaroo, and New Holland Sloth.
  • Koala sleep at least 19 hours a day.
  • Koala’s are nocturnal animals which means that the sleep during the day and move around at night.
  • Koalas eat so much eucalyptus leaves that they smell like them.
  • The scientific name for a koala is Phasclarctos cinereus.
  • The koala is a warm-blooded mammal.
  • There is only 1 specie of koala.
  • Koalas almost never go on the ground.


Works Cited
"Koala." National Geographic. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/koala/>.
"Koala." Koala. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. <http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/cook/7thgrade/koalareport.htm>.